HOKUSAI: ONE HUNDRED POETS

New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1989. First Edition. . Hardcover. Very Good/Good. Hokusaid, Japan's greatest 19th century artist, left one major project unfinished upon his death in 1849: The prints he intended to accompany and illustrate the 13th century Japanese anthology, "One Hundred Poets," in which each poet was respresented by a single poem. At the time of his death, Hokusai had completed only 27 of the 100 he envisioned, with drawings or designs for at least 64 more partially finished. This book brings together for the first time all 89 of "One Hundred Poets" subjects available. First Printing, First Edition. An oblong quarto (14 x 10 inches); 222 pages in dark-orange, cloth-covered boards with gold lettering on front cover and spine. 41 full color plates and 70 black & white illustrations. With an introduction and commentary by Peter Morse. Includes a bibliography and index. A small, neat inscription to previous owner on fep and a touch of foxing and soiling on text edges, o/w boards and text are complete, clean and unmarked, tight and square, not remaindered. The dustjacket shows an irregular, nickel-sized area where the finish has been damaged (probably removal of a price sticker), two small holes scratched in the jacket on the fold between the dj's front panel and spine, and three small tears along the dj's top edge as well as minor wear and chipping at the spine ends. That said, the dj is 99% complete with minimal damage to the pictorial front panel. A very decent reading/study copy of a relatively scarce edition. [Sorry, given this book's large size and weight, we cannot accept priority/express orders or orders from outside the U.S.]